Linux 3.10 Goes Long Term: Why It Matters

Linux kernel developers have selected a new long-term kernel that could serve as the basis for enterprise Linux distributions as well as consumer electronics devices.

Linus Torvalds, the founder and creator of the open-source Linux operating system, releases a new Linux kernel every 10 to 12 weeks, but not all Linux kernels have a long life and not all kernels are stable enough for enterprise or consumer electronics usage. The kernel is the heart of a Linux operating system, and updates provide new capabilities, including system architecture, filesystem, networking and driver support.

This week, Greg Kroah-Hartman, a Fellow at the Linux Foundation, declared that the recent Linux 3.10 kernel release that first debuted at the end of June will be a long-term kernel release. A long-term Linux kernel release is maintained by Kroah-Hartman for up to two years. In contrast, a non-long-term kernel release is no longer maintained after a new kernel is released. For example, the Linux 3.9 kernel that first debuted in April of this year hit its end of life at the end of July, shortly after Linux 3.10 debuted.